Are you Cheap or Frugal?

Living well off of less money is considered being frugal, taking shortcuts or taking advantage of people to get by is considered being cheap.  Two little words that make a big difference.

Do you cringe when you hear the word cheap?  Are you left with a picture in your mind of  "Ebenezer Scrooge" ?What about the word frugal?  Though it's not quite a term of endearment, most would take less offense if you called them frugal then if you called them cheap.  Terms like "thrifty" and "money conscious" are also used to describe those who like to be "financially responsible".  One Atlanta credit union even describes saving money wisely as being "frugalicious".  So are you frugal or just cheap when it comes to your money? Are you a tight wad? A penny pincher? Or someone who knows how to "stretch a dollar"?

There looks to be a thin line between cheap and frugal and I think in different situations many of us have found ourselves on both sides of that line.  Here are a few examples of being frugal verses being cheap when comes to considering an auto purchase.

• Frugal - Purchasing a car and leaving out extra options that you don't need and can't really afford (sunroofs, leather, chrome wheels)
• Cheap - Haggling the price and then asking how much less you can get the car if they take the third row out of the SUV.
• Frugal - Shopping around for the best car deal taking advantage of special pricing, rebates and end of the month discounts.
• Cheap - Making copies of a coupon for $5oo off the price of a car, and then arguing with the dealer because it didn't say one offer per person.
• Frugal - Being satisfied with a great deal on a great car even if it's not the color you originally wanted, because you didn't want to pay extra for candy apple red.
• Cheap - Buying a car you don't like and then using paint cans to paint it candy apple red.
• Frugal - Deciding to wait on a car purchase because you don't have enough for the down payment, and the car insurance.
• Cheap - Intentionally purchasing a car using every last dollar you have on the down payment and then writing a bad check for insurance you plan to cancel the next day anyway, leaving you vulnerable to tickets fines and lots of legal trouble.
• Frugal- Deciding  to rotate your tires every oil change to prevent having to buy new ones as frequently from wear out.
• Cheap- Waiting until your tires wear down from NOT rotating them, then replacing the bad tires with cheap used tires that will just wear out again prematurely.

If you are more cheap than frugal no worries, there is still hope for you to become less cheap and more frugal.  In fact Associated credit Union would like to show you how to be more frugal by offering you money saving tips.  At Associated Credit union they celebrate money mindedness and pride themselves on educating  their members about options that can help them be more being financially responsible or as they like to call it "frugalicious". Whether your cheap, frugal, thrifty, or money conscious,  saving money is smart, and being financially smart makes you Frugalicious.  Join today at  www.acuonline.org, its easy, costs only $5 to be a member and anyone can join.  So if you are looking to finance car, save money on interest , or just lose all those ridiculous bank fees go to Associated Credit Union - where they pride themselves as being  "Better than a Bank".